Transfiguration Lesson 3 (Years 1-4)

Nearing the end of his first year teaching, Grayson was simultaneously worried about how his students would do on their exams, and relieved that he had managed to survive the whole year without anything too dramatic happening. Sure, it hadn't gone perfectly, but he hadn't expected it to. At least as far as he knew, he'd still be teaching next year.

He had a soft spot for his younger class. He felt more confident around them, and more relaxed. He also felt like he had more freedom, since the standardized, Ministry-issued exams did not affect them yet. So as the year drew to a close, and the class as a whole seemed to be getting the hang of all the basic fundamental elements of the subject, Grayson thought something fun was in order to round off the year. Something flashy, but not as challenging as it seemed.

This lesson would probably get messy, but Grayson had decided it was worth it. The kids deserved to have this experience, and if all went well, it would build confidence in their own abilities, and hopefully compel them to learn more. That being said, he had some precautions in place - any potential exits into the castle proper were sealed and charmed so that nothing could escape, and he had kept his lesson plan as organized as possible to prevent any true chaos from unfolding. He just hoped things would go according to plan.

The classroom setting was nothing special today. The only thing really noteworthy was the word written on the board: Avifors.

The last two terms had proven to Mimosa that taking Transfiguration was a good idea. Professor Hughes always came up with fun things for them to do and hardly ever called for reading of the textbook, which suited the young witch just fine. Not fond of the written word on an average day, the young Slytherin especially didn't want to spend her last few days of the school year reading.

No, she had much better things to do, like pack for her confirmed upcoming trip to India. What was even better though was that she would not be going alone.

It had taken a lot of time and persuasion but in the end, Mrs. Williams had relented and now, Mimosa would be flying off to the south Asian continents with her best friend by her side. Mimosa was so excited, she could barely stay still. She could' wait to show Mercy EVERYTHING in India and in her excitement, was sure that it was indeed possible.

The girl had been up in Gryffindor Tower talking to Mercy non stop as Bushrah watched from the corners, only interrupting the Slytherin to remind her that they had class. Mimosa had made a face but followed the hijab clad girl out, waving goodbye to everyone else. The duo arrived just behind Seema and Jia En who were worriedly talking about the upcoming exams.

"Hi Professor Hughes," Mimosa called out cheerily walking to her usual table and siting down. There weren't any books in sight so things were already looking up.

Transfiguration. Again. Nikolai didn't much like this class, and last term had been testament to that much when he had literally fallen asleep in class. The books he'd found whilst he'd been researching his father's illness had been much too intriguing though for the boy to simply put them down. Which had led to a very late night, which led to him falling asleep in the class. Of course, as luck would have it, Mimosa Harrington had seen it fit for her presence to be pushed upon him once more, and Nikolai had not been able to get away from her.

Mostly because he'd been asleep, not because she was cunning in any manner.

Hoping that a repeat of this wouldn't happen today, Nikolai entered the Transfiguration classroom to find a handful of people, and Little-Miss-I-Will-Be-Your-Friend was right there. Sighing internally at this, Nikolai contemplated heading towards the back of the classroom, away from her high pitched American voice that he didn't like, but he stopped short at her desk, deciding it best to sit next to the kid. At least then she wouldn't embarrass him by 'whispering' across the classroom.

Of course, Mimosa Harrington would probably still manage to embarrass him, so Nikolai sat beside her, but made no effort to talk to the witch, hoping she would understand what his silence meant. Not that he truly believed she would, if there was one thing Nikolai did know of the witch, she was slow on the uptake, never, ever reading situations as the reality they were. Vastly frustrating to the Slytherin male as he pulled out his notebook with little and less interest in actually doing any work.

Grayson waited for the class to fill up, then shut the door with a wave of his hand. After his customary greeting to the class, he asked if anyone recognized the spell on the board. A few hands went up, and those who had studied outside of class were rewarded with the opportunity to share their knowledge. He nodded along and added some information here and there, but for the most part, his students did a decent job of explaining the spell, and he decided they could move on to a demonstration.

He pulled a basket of smooth stones out from under his desk, and levitated one onto each desk. Then he took one himself and held it up so the class had a clear view. Taking his wand from his pocket, he flicked it toward the stone with a decisive movement, and spoke the incantation, enunciating clearly. In a flurry of feathers, the stone burst apart into a small flock of birds, which fluttered away towards the window that opened to the outside.

"The avifors spell is not as hard as it looks," he stated. "And if you remember all the lessons you learned this year, you should have no problem producing at least one bird by the end of class. Remember the basics - image, enunciation, and of course, confidence. You may just surprise yourselves."

And with that, he stepped back to watch the chaos unfold. A few of the more dedicated students achieved success within the first few minutes, but others had less luck. Grayson took up his usual position surveying the room, correcting mistakes when needed.

By the end of class, almost everyone had successfully transformed their rock into a bird, or even several. Grayson swelled with pride at their progress, realizing how far they had come since the beginning of the year. He was glad most of these students would be back next year to continue with his class. He'd grown quite fond of them over the course of the year.

As the last few birds were either shooed out the window or untransfigured, Grayson turned to face his class for a few moments before the bell. He leaned against the edge of his desk and smiled at the young students about to leave for the last time this school year. He ought to say a few words.

"Well done, all of you. I know this is not an easy class, and I want to say I'm proud of each and every one of you for sticking with it til the end. Thank you for putting in your best efforts this year. I hope you feel like you've learned a lot, not just in my class, but in every class you've taken. And with that, have a great summer! I'll see you in September."

With a final wave and a soft smile, he dismissed the students from his classroom once and for all. He would miss them. All things considered, he'd had a great first class, and he looked forward to seeing them again.